Pop Quiz! 5 Crucial Questions About Your Data Backup

As annoying (and costly) as it can be, you can replace damaged business hardware fairly quickly. Your data, however… not so much. Of any solution that might help your business out of a jam, a data backup is possibly the most important. However, a backup is only as reliable as it is configured to be. To ensure your backup is optimized to your business’ needs, we’ve compiled a few questions to ask as you examine your backup solution.

Is the right data being backed up?

To determine this, identify what information your business needs to function and what data is effectively irreplaceable. This information should be your top priority to preserve against potential data loss. Consider what data your business simply could not function without and make sure to preserve that data. Once that is protected, determine the next highest priority to preserve, and so on.

How often is data being backed up?

Think of all that you accomplish in a day, a week, a month. In the interest of not losing progress, a backup should be taken as often as possible. For example, an automatic incremental backup could be taken as often as every fifteen minutes with modern backup solutions. This way, your data loss is minimized, allowing you to continue with your day with as little interruption as possible.

How long does it take to restore your data?

While many backups have traditionally taken hours or even days to complete before productivity could be resumed, those days are in the past. With today’s technology, your files can be run directly off the backup as the data is being restored. This effectively puts you back in business almost immediately, minimizing the ill effects of data loss on your productivity.

Is your data being backed up properly?

When backing up files in a workplace, the originals should not be located on an individual workstation. Instead, save files to a centralized network, which itself should back up. That way, a malfunctioning workstation won’t cost you critical data.

Is your backup secure?

This may be the most crucial consideration you make when backing up. After all, having an insecure backup is no better than not having a backup at all. 67.2% of data loss in businesses is due to hacking. Your data needs to be encrypted before it is stored in an offsite location to ensure it is protected and safe from an event that affects your place of business.